Automatic humidifier attachment for water pans



oct.' 25,1927.

W. W. WARNER AUTOMATIC HUMIDIFIER ATTACHMENT FOR WATER PANS Filed lApril 8, 1926 Pza" f1. T

Patented Uct. 25, 19.27.

UIIED S" WALTER W. WARNER, oFVDETn-OIT, MICHIGAN.

AUTOMATIC HUMIDIFIER ATTACHMENT rota WATER rANsy j Application filed April 8, 1926. S'eralNo.` 100,602. l

This invention relates to an automatic humidifer attachment for steainor hot water witha'suitable quantityof the rwater andv to radiators, hot air furnaces, andthe like,"

after Vdescribed and claimed. Y

l An 'object of the invention isv to provide anattachmentadapted to be applied to or connected with a. pan or tank on a radiator or hot' air furnace and connected with a water supply pipe, ifloat'. operated valve and it consist-s in the novel features hereinmeans being provided for controllingrthe flow of water 'from' the pipe to thepanso that the paninay atall times be supplied avoid the necessity ofsup'plying the'water tothe pan by hand;

. fittingA is llocatedinteriorly of the pan vand is connected with the inner end of the nipple that passes through thek side of the pan. The said fitting contains a' body of Babbitt metal which supports a tube adapted to separate lrust and sediment from the water and a valve-'member 'is threaded.v in the fitting and'is adapted 'to engage overthe end of a duct provided in the body of Babbitt metal `to control the low of the water through the A float device'is lo-Y tube and the fitting. cated linteriorly of the pan and connected rwith the said valve member so `that the water in lthe pan may be maintained vat a predetermined level` Should the level of the water in the pan 4descend the 'valve member is turned wherebyit is moved awayfrom the Vduct in the body of the Babbitt metalyand `'water vis permitted to flow through the tting into the pan and when the level of the water assumes its normal height thefvalve member is automatically moved toward and Y closes against the duct in the bodybf Babbittmetal, thus automatically cutting off the flow ofthe water.'

VIn theaccompanying drawings, l 'Figure 1 1s a transverse sectional view of a water pan of a hot air furnaceshowlng thehumidifier applied thereto and connected with awater supply pipe,

Figure 2 is a detailed end'elevation of the Y tting with connectedpartsiand showing the float in section,

Figure 3 is an enlargedlongitudinal sec# tional view of the "fitting and adjacent parts,` v

'.'Figure4 is afragmentary sectional view of modified form ofthe fitting and valve, ano.,-;.=-.

Figure isan enlarged sectional viewuo'f., the 'nipple 'connected with the water supply As a.v matter gof illustration,l a fwater lpan orv 'A tank of a hot air-furnace is'shOWll'at 1.' This pan or tank is'of .the usual form. A Water supply'p'ipe is indicated 'at 2.A jrfAnipple 3 1s threaded throughthe side of thefpip'e 2 v andy is provided at its-inner-end withaV screen ``gauze 4 preferably of lwire netting. A nipple 5 is threaded through the side ofV the pan `1 ata point below the normal water level of the-saidpan. A 4pipe is connected at its ends with the nipples 3- and 5 by means of union nuts v7.y f

` A fttrigis located interiorly of thev pan' v and consists of an elbowmember '8 lwhichis connected with the innerend ofthe nipple 5 f andv an elbow member-.9 which ,is connected with the lower end of 'theelbow member 8' most clearly shown inFigure 3 of thedrawings. A bodyof Babbitt metall() islocated 1n the elbow 9 and supports a tube l11 which extends up intoA the elbow member 8 and which isspaced fromthe surface-ofthe `inner wally thereof. The body 10is provided with a' duct 12 y opening through one end thereof and which'com'municates at its inner end with the interior of the ltube lljand 'the elbow 9' is provided at'fits lower-side and vat a point beyond the edge of the' body 10 with ia' water outlet opening '13.

In the form of thearrangementas shownin Figures 1 2, and?) of the drawings, la valve member 14 is threaded vin the elbow member 9 and is provided with a cone-shaped end v portion-adapted tol close against theend edge of the duct ,12. The' coneeshaped porf tion 15 carries at its apex a pin 16' whichis substa'i'itiallyI triangular in'cro'ss sectionk and which extends through the duct 12'and` which ent-ers thelower portion of,A the tube 11. The pin 16 is spaced from the fwalls'o-` islinked through an 'eye l9carried at the A center ofthe bottoinyof avfloatp'an y The pan 1 descend, the float pan 2() will also dei io scend, thus swinging thel rod 17 whereby the valve member 111 is turned in the elbow mem-` berL 9 and thecone-shaped end portion 15 of the valve member is moved away from the end' of the duct 12, thus opening the passageway through theduct 12 and permitting the water to flow through thevtube 11, the duct 12, and through the outlet opening 13 into the pan. Thus, the supplyof water in Athe' pan 1 is replenished and the float pan 20j is elevated whereby `the movement `of the parts just described is reversed and the cone- Vshaped portion' 1,5 lis imoved vto a closed position over the end of the duct 12, thus cutting off the flow o'f the water into the pan 1. ByV reason of the 'fact that the upper portion of thej tube 11` is spaced from the sur-` face of the interior wall ofthe elbow mem'- ber 8, any sedimentV or rust which may enter, the elbow member 8 will gravitate upon the upper surface of the body 10 and thus the said sediment or rust will not flow through the tube to the valve seat engaged by the ycone-shaped portion 15,. At the same time thewater may flow ,through the tube when the valve `member 14 is open with relation'to the duct. Y y

In the *forml of the arrangement as shown 'in Figure L1 of the drawings, the elbow mem- Y ber 9 is eXteriorly threaded as at 10. A cap I 22 is iiiteriorly threaded andis arranged to screw upon the threads 10. The iod 17 is connected with the cap 22. The cap`22 carries a centrallydisposed` valve pin 23 which -is adapted toclose against the end edge .of theduct 12 in the body of Babbitt ,metal 1,0. This arrangement provides a simplified structure and the parts are strong and durable and consequently the device may be used advantageously in conjunction with a water supplysysteni where the water is suhjected to high pressure. y

From the foregoing description, taken in conjunction with rthe accompanying drawings, it willbe seen that I have provided an automatic humidifier attachment for steam, hot water, hot air furnaces, and the like`,which may be easily and quickly applied and connected with a. water supply pipe and which is efficient in its action and will maintain the level ofthe water iii a tank ork pan at a predetermined height` without requiring theattention of an attendant.

My valve seat hasV a small or short bearingf surface and most important of all is that itlislconipvosed of Babbitt metal to eliminate the wearingV of an. annular -groovein the cone-shaped portion 15, which invariably becoming too flat at this particular point.

A long bearing seat is impractical because the mineral residue from hot water, evenV after straining, will form more on one side or part of the seat than on another, thus causing' a leak.k Also, an" object point besides, there beingv provided a short bearing Babbitt seat, is thatmy needle pin 16 has a turning-action whichtogether with the water pressure keeps the seat clean, and a very small pressure of the cone-shaped portion 15 against the soft Babbitt seat is`needed to completely stop the flow of water.A My device is also constructed to operate below the 'surface of the water where it is least affected by heat. Y It is a well known fact that Babbitt metal shrinks more when cooling than does brass or copper, andV when the connection is made between the elbow 9 and elbow 8, the lelbow 8 presses the babbitt tight againstthe interior surface of the'elbow 9 in order to preventthe seeping of water between the Babbitt material 10 and' elbow 9. Also by providing Babbitt material, it is easy to adjust the di# rection of pointing the elbow 8 when installing, as the Babbitt metal will allow an eXtra half turn or so', The tube 11 extending down in the Babbitt material is sealed tight at its end and does not touch the interior surface of the elbow 9, thus closing thev endfof thetube 1.1 and eliminating t-he danger of a leakage in caseiof shrinkage of the Babbitt metal.

The pan-like shape of my float 20 is important because a float of greater depth will invariably interfere with the castings above water pans in most furnaces. AThe pan is also weighted so that its buoyancy when half submerged is equal to its weight when not f floating.

It istobe understood that theform of my invention herewith shown and described' is to be taken Aas the preferred example of the same, and' that various changes as to the shape, size, and arrangen'ient of vparts may be resorted to without departing from' the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims. v

Having described the invention, what is claimed is: j l 4 1. humidiiier attachment for the water pan of a furnace comprising a nipple adapted to be passed throughV the sider o'f the pan below the normal water level, a fitting con-y nected with the nipple, al body ofv relatively f soft metallocated in the litting and having a duct therethrough, avalve `member having 'screw thread engagement with the .fitting and adapted to close the' duct, and a float connected with .the valve for turning the saine.

2. A humidifier# enactment-'for the'waer pan of a furnace comprising a nipple, a fit- "the fitting ting connected with thenipple', said fitting coneistingof elbow members, a. body of relatively soft material located in one elbow member, 'a tube carried by the said body and extending into the other lelbow member and closing the duct, a pin carried by the valve and having a duct therethrough, a Valve member threaded in the fitting for Vmember and extending into the duct, and av I float connected with the Valve member.

4. A humidier attachment for the water pan ofl a furnace comprising a fitting, a 'body' of relativelysoft material located in the fitting, a tube carried by the body andextending through one `end thereof and spaced from the inner wall of the itting,lsaid bodyfhaving a duct opening through the other en'd` thereof and communicating with the interior of the tube, a valve member threaded in they fitting, a pin carried by the valve member l 1 and extending through the duct, andra oat connected with the valve member. f

In testimony whereof, I have affixed my signature.

WALTR w. Wannen j 

